TURF; Nightmares On Mold Street

By MOTOKO RICH
Wall Street Journal

Toxic mold began making headlines nearly a decade ago when fungi like Stachybotrys atra and penicillium were discovered spreading their wispy Addam's Family tendrils up library partitions and down school hallways. The mold was said to cause flu- or asthmalike symptoms, skin rashes, heart palpitations, headaches, respiratory problems and chronic fatigue. Then the fear of mold spread to the home.

While mold claims increase, and new products are introduced to combat mold, some doctors are questioning whether molds cause many of the ills attributed to them. Insurance companies are excluding mold coverage in many states, and some builders are skeptical about the efficacy of new mold retardants.

Kirk Hansen, director of claims for the Alliance of American Insurers, a trade group in Downers Grove, Ill., said there are 10,000 active lawsuits involving mold in homes. Bianca Jagger has sued her Park Avenue landlord for $20 million, alleging that the company failed to fix a persistent leak that caused mold to spread across a wall in her rental apartment. Across the avenue, at 515 Park, condominium owners are suing a developer over construction defects they say caused a mold outbreak in their multimillion-dollar apartments.

Last month, a jury in Salem, Mass., awarded Katrine Stevens, a former condo owner in nearby Gloucester, $549,326 in damages and interest after she was exposed to mold that her doctors said made it difficult for her to breathe and forced her to leave her home after just a month and a half.

Despite some doubt about what ills can in fact be attributed to mold, insurers paid out $3 billion on mold-related claims last year, more than double the $1.4 billion in 2001, according to the Insurance Information Institute, a New York-based trade association.

''It's a nightmare because we've lived with mold for thousands, if not millions of years,'' said Stuart Saft, a real estate lawyer and chairman of the Council of New York Cooperatives and Condominiums. ''And now every time anybody sees any mold whatsoever, they immediately feel that their life is in danger and that it's building-eating mold.''

The lawsuits, the occasional legal victory and the headlines have generated an anxiety about mold that has created its own industry for prevention and care.

Some measures to prevent mold are obvious and cost nothing; builders can make sure that wallboard and other materials stay dry during construction.

None of this has escaped the notice of home builders and property owners, who foresee additional liability as insurers shirk the burden.

David J. Wine, vice chairman of the Related Companies, which is developing the center with Apollo Real Estate Advisors, said his company had conducted mold-prevention inspections on two other buildings, mostly in response to headlines about toxic mold. Mr. Wine said the engineer at Time Warner recommended that the builders remove wet wallboard or other building materials.

Wet building materials were fairly common as home builders and condo developers rushed to put up structures during the housing boom that began in the late 1990's, said George Benda, chief executive of Chelsea Group, an Itasca, Ill.-based testing and remediation business specializing in indoor air quality. In their haste, he said, builders often install fixtures like cabinetwork and carpeting before cement or wallboard has dried.

Drywall can also get wet if it isn't adequately protected from rain and snow. If that moisture is trapped inside the building, it can lead to the growth of mold.

Besides being unsightly, a mold like Stachybotrys atra (pronounced stock-ee-BAH-trus AH-tra) can create serious problems for people with impaired immune systems, like cancer patients, and many people can develop mold allergies, which lead to hay-fever or asthma-like symptoms.

Nevertheless, the C.D.C. urges anyone who discovers mold at home to remove it promptly. More important, Dr. Redd said, is to stop the source of the mold. ''If you just clean up the mold, put the same material back and don't deal with the water problem,'' he said, ''you're going to have the mold problem.

Melinda Ballard, the group's founder, said homeowners who want coverage for water damage and mold will have to buy a FloLogic system. Ms. Ballard well knows the risks of mold: after rampant mold growth forced her and her family to flee their Texas home, she sued. She was awarded a jury verdict of $32 million later reduced to $4 million.

Some home builders are trying to protect houses from mold even if leaks do occur. The Lennar Corporation, a large national home builder based in Miami, has replaced the moisture-resistant wallboard normally used in bathrooms with a cement-based product that it says resists moisture more effectively. The company also coats wood and wallboard with antimicrobial sprays when deemed necessary based on geography and climate.